Overview

Suicide, taking your own life, is a tragic reaction to stressful life situations — and all the more tragic because suicide can be prevented. Whether you're considering suicide or know someone who feels suicidal, learn suicide warning signs and how to reach out for immediate help and professional treatment. You may save a life — your own or someone else's.

It may seem like there's no way to solve your problems and that suicide is the only way to end the pain. But you can take steps to stay safe — and start enjoying your life again.

Causes

Suicidal thoughts have many causes. Most often, suicidal thoughts are the result of feeling like you can't cope when you're faced with what seems to be an overwhelming life situation. If you don't have hope for the future, you may mistakenly think suicide is a solution. You may experience a sort of tunnel vision, where in the middle of a crisis you believe suicide is the only way out.

There also may be a genetic link to suicide. People who complete suicide or who have suicidal thoughts or behavior are more likely to have a family history of suicide.

Risk factors

Although attempted suicide is more frequent for women, men are more likely than women to complete suicide because they typically use more-effective methods, such as a firearm.

You may be at risk of suicide if you:

Feel hopeless, worthless, agitated, socially isolated or lonely

Experience a stressful life event, such as the loss of a loved one, military service, a breakup, or financial or legal problems

Have a substance abuse problem — alcohol and drug abuse can worsen thoughts of suicide and make you feel reckless or impulsive enough to act on your thoughts

Have suicidal thoughts and have access to firearms in your home

Have an underlying psychiatric disorder, such as major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or bipolar disorder

Have a family history of mental disorders, substance abuse, suicide, or violence, including physical or sexual abuse

Have a medical condition that can be linked to depression and suicidal thinking, such as chronic disease, chronic pain or terminal illness

Are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender with an unsupportive family or in a hostile environment

Attempted suicide before

Children and teenagers

Suicide in children and teenagers often follows stressful life events. What a young person sees as serious and insurmountable may seem minor to an adult — such as problems in school or the loss of a friendship. In some cases, a child or teen may feel suicidal due to certain life circumstances that he or she may not want to talk about, such as:

Having a psychiatric disorder, including depression

Loss or conflict with close friends or family members

History of physical or sexual abuse

Problems with alcohol or drugs

Physical or medical issues, for example, becoming pregnant or having a sexually transmitted infection

Being the victim of bullying

Being uncertain of sexual orientation

Reading or hearing an account of suicide or knowing a peer who died by suicide

Murder and suicide

In rare cases, people who are suicidal are at risk of killing others and then themselves. Known as a homicide-suicide or murder-suicide, some risk factors include:

History of conflict with a spouse or romantic partner

Current family legal or financial problems

History of mental health problems, particularly depression

Alcohol or drug abuse

Having access to a firearm — nearly all murder-suicides are committed using a gun

Starting antidepressants and increased suicide risk

Most antidepressants are generally safe, but the Food and Drug Administration requires that all antidepressants carry black box warnings, the strictest warnings for prescriptions. In some cases, children, teenagers and young adults under 25 may have an increase in suicidal thoughts or behavior when taking antidepressants, especially in the first few weeks after starting or when the dose is changed.

However, keep in mind that antidepressants are more likely to reduce suicide risk in the long run by improving mood.

Teen suicide prevention

Reach out — Preventing teen suicide

Complications

Suicidal thoughts and attempted suicide take an emotional toll. For instance, you may be so consumed by suicidal thoughts that you can't function in your daily life. And while many attempted suicides are impulsive acts during a moment of crisis, they can leave you with permanent serious or severe injuries, such as organ failure or brain damage.

For those left behind after a suicide — people known as survivors of suicide — grief, anger, depression and guilt are common.

Prevention

To help keep yourself from feeling suicidal:

Get the treatment you need. If you don't treat the underlying cause, your suicidal thoughts are likely to return. You may feel embarrassed to seek treatment for mental health problems, but getting the right treatment for depression, substance misuse or another underlying problem will make you feel better about life — and help keep you safe.

Establish your support network. It may be hard to talk about suicidal feelings, and your friends and family may not fully understand why you feel the way you do. Reach out anyway, and make sure the people who care about you know what's going on and are there when you need them. You may also want to get help from your place of worship, support groups or other community resources. Feeling connected and supported can help reduce suicide risk.

Remember, suicidal feelings are temporary. If you feel hopeless or that life's not worth living anymore, remember that treatment can help you regain your perspective — and life will get better. Take one step at a time and don't act impulsively.

The relationship between bullying and suicide: What we know and what it means for schools. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/suicide/. Accessed April 9, 2015.

Connecting the dots: An overview of the links among multiple forms of violence. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pub/connecting_dots.html. Accessed April 9, 2015.

Suicide: Taking care of yourself and your family after an attempt (Family guide). National Alliance on Mental Illness. http://www2.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Issue_Spotlights&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=24452. Accessed April 9, 2015.

Suicide: Taking care of yourself after an attempt (Individual guide). National Alliance on Mental Illness. http://www2.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Issue_Spotlights&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=24452. Accessed April 9, 2015.

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